Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

UFC CEO Dana White compared MMA prospect Sal Everett to boxer Callum Walsh ahead of his longtime employee's DWCS fight.

Dana White usually doesn't know anything about the Dana White's Contender Series fighters until they walk out to the cage at the Apex. But on October 6th, White will be in a unique position cageside.

White's longtime assistant, Sal Everett, was recently announced to fight middleweight Ozzy Martin in a matchup of two 4-0 fighters on the final DWCS card of the upcoming season. Everett worked as a runner, in addition to a variety of other roles, for White during his time working in Las Vegas for the UFC's production team.

In what will be a unique homecoming for Everett, White could be left in a unique predicament if his longtime assistant makes a strong case for a UFC contract later this year. Despite his history with Everett, White will treat him just as any other up-and-coming prospect looking to make a statement.

Dana White weighs in on longtime employee Sal Everett's DWCS showcase

During a recent media scrum at the UFC Apex, White was asked about Everett's upcoming fight at his longtime employer.

“Yeah, I'm excited,†White said of Everett.

“He is a great kid, and everybody in this company loves him. I feel bad for whoever he's fighting. He's gonna feel like he's coming into enemy territory, when that is not the case.

“These are some of those – you know, it's like Callum Walsh. I was working with Callum early on in his career, and I feel like anybody that comes into Zuffa Boxing feels like they're the odd man out, which is not the case. You come in here and, if Sal's good enough, then he's gonna make it, and he's gonna get a contract,†White continued. If he's not, then he's gotta figure out what he's gonna do next.†(h/t MMA Junkie)

Everett's four professional fights all ended in first-round stoppages, including a four-second knockout in January at a Tuff ‘N Uff event.

Who are you most excited to watch in the upcoming season of Dana white's Contender Series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Ian Machado Garry doesn't care if fans like him or not.

Garry has gotten backlash from MMA fans over what he says in interviews and the way he acts. Yet, he seemingly doesn't care, as he's just focused on fighting, and he has a chance to win the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330 on Saturday against Islam Makhachev.

Ahead of the bout, Garry was asked if he cares about the lack of fan support, which he shot down quickly.

“I couldn't care less,†Garry said to Spinning Backfist MMA Show on Barstool. “Ahead of my fight with Belal Muhammad in Qatar, I walked out to boos. Go back and listen to the audio 30 seconds into the fight. ‘Let's go, Garry! Let's go!' This sport is a pantomime. I couldn't care less what people think of me. What I care about is becoming the champion of the world and proving that I was right.

‘That's all that matters to me'

“That's the dream I had as a 16-year-old growing up in Dublin, Ireland. I will fulfill that dream. What anyone else thinks about me, it's irrelevant. My little boy is going to be front row when I win that belt. I couldn't care what anyone else on this planet has to say about me or thinks about me, I want to see his smile, I want to see him and my wife. I want to give him the biggest cuddle I possibly can, and say, ‘Daddy did it!' That's all that matters to me.â€

As Garry says, all he cares about is what his family thinks about him, and not what fans think of him. He just wants his fighting to do all the talking. And, that will show on Saturday when he faces Makhachev for the welterweight title.

Garry enters UFC 330 as the underdog and is coming off a decision win over Belal Muhammad.

Do you think Ian Machado Garry will beat Islam Makhachev at UFC 330?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

ONE Championship

A 31-year-old challenger with a habit of ending fights early gets a second crack at the title that got away from her once before.

Natalia Diachkova challenges two-sport World Champion Stella Hemetsberger for the ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 46, streaming live in US primetime this Friday, August 14, from Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium. The Russian opened her ONE Championship run with four consecutive wins on the weekly series to earn a six-figure contract in 2024, three of them by knockout.

Her first World Title opportunity did not go her way, but two statement victories since have put her back in line for another shot. Four of her six wins under the ONE banner have come by first-round knockout, a finishing rate that marks her as one of the division's most explosive strikers, most recently a stoppage of Fahsai Aor Yutthachai at ONE Friday Fights 152 this past May.

“For a long time, I've been tortured by injustice. Maybe I imagined it myself, though, but I just couldn't explain some things to myself. Like, why do I train for so many years, and I failed psychologically in the title fight? Why is it always this way,†she said.

Natalia Diachkova brings early finishes to Lumpinee

Hemetsberger has built her championship run on five-round composure rather than single knockout moments, closing out both of her title-winning fights against Jackie Buntan over the full distance. Diachkova's game plan operates on the opposite clock entirely.

Whichever quality wins out on August 14, early knockout power against proven championship-rounds composure, will decide who leaves Lumpinee Stadium still holding two-sport gold.

“I realized that everything that happened to me was for a reason, and I guess I'm thankful for it. All the changes that ought to have happened to me happened, and now I'm exactly where I should be,†she said.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM